So, a vision therapist told me.... Thoughts?

[prairiewindmomma]

I had to deal with my school district yesterday. My district's vision therapist called me re: paperwork. I trust her judgment, generally. She was a huge resource when my dd developed low vision and then became deaf/blind. She also assessed ds when we set up his 504. She sent in the paperwork for learning ally & bookshare, set us up with color overlays, and pushed us towards vision therapy discretely. I share all of this so that you know that I am not just quickly discounting what she said.

So, during our conversation, I shared that my ds with severe convergence insufficiency was struggling in math...including keeping numbers straight. (His conceptual understanding has improved.) She suggested that we just give him a calculator. He is 8. She is also the one who, along with the district's OT, suggested just teaching touch typing and a functional signature.

I have a few thoughts...but I am wondering what you think... I will jump in later when toddler baby isn't so fussy.

[OneStepAtATime]

Well, he is in vision therapy, right?  Or not.  If so, how long?  Has there been improvement?  It seems way too soon to just give up on his math abilities without the use of a calculator.  

 

When you say keeping numbers straight, what do you mean exactly?  Are you certain that all of his issues stem from vision?  Could there also be some basic number pattern issues (weak subitization skills)?  I didn't think either of my kids were struggling with subitization skills.  And I was wrong.  I started them back on Ronit Bird and Dynamo Math to solidify their subitization skills and it has made a world of difference, even with DS who is going through VT.

[PeterPan]

You probably have more options than they are able to make happen with their budgets and time limitations.  That's why you homeschool.  Now you know you have permission to hand him a calculator when the time is right.  Doesn't sound like you think it's right.  ;)

 

Treat what you can treat.  There's no need to make accommodations like that when you haven't yet hit walls you can't plow through.  I gave my dd a calculator for math after our full psych evals, but at that point I knew WHY and it sure wasn't simply because of something correctable like convergence issues, mercy.  There are good reasons to hand him a calculator, but you need to know why and that you've done everything up to that to correct things that can be corrected.  

[prairiewindmomma]

Toddler is eating, so hopefully I have a few minutes to post. Ds has more than just visual issues going on. He's 2E so we have all kinds of perfectionism being matched up with dysgraphia and some math and reading issues. We have spent a huge amount of time on subitizing a la Ronit Bird and conceptually he's in a decent place now. Numbers still shimmer, wave, move, or get transposed....

Anyway....

My first response to her thoughts was relief. So much of school is a battle and the thought of being able to bypass handwriting every problem on a white board and scribing for him was one that made my heart sing. A few minutes later, though, reality reappeared and I know I just need to remediate everything that I can.

I think this year I am just scared of how far we are diverging from the public school path. His older (also 2e) sibling was doing multidigit multiplication, and this particular child just finished memorizing his addition facts. We are just now moving into multidigit addition and subtraction. I am really struggling in finding the balance between feeding his strengths and coping with his challenges. It's especially hard when balancing his needs with another 2e kid, a gifted k'er, and a toddler. My husband works a ton and we've got a lot going on medically. I don't think I can give this kid the "premium" school experience....and yet i know completely that he is way better off at home than at any public or private school here. Even all of the OTs, SL-Ps, etc all agree that I have brought him a long way, more than they thought he'd improve.

This post is kind of angsty, but do you know what I mean? Where is that balance? When do I start accommodating more? (My gut is to not hand over the calculator until after fractions/decimals).

[Heathermomster]

I did not allow full calculator use until 6th grade. Btw, a calculator does no good when they don't enter problems correctly. I don't consider the calculator to be the nirvana that some classroom teachers believe it to be because the dysgraphia is ever present. DS is actually better off with the multiplication chart to fall back on. He gets lazy with the calculator...I can't explain it. I allow it for mainly decimal division and percentages.

Use the calculator when you are ready. You know your child better than anyone.

For multidigit multiplication, we threw in the towel and DS uses lattice multiplication. He refused lattice multi for the longest time; however, he now derives correct answers and feels much better overall. Half the time I feel like my work is mostly helping DS discover workable math strategies.

[AmyontheFarm]

My son is 13 and we are just starting to see improvement with keeping numbers in the right columns.  One thing that did help was a few ipad apps.  He would have to select the number he wanted to use and the ipad would immediately insert it in the right place.  Now I only started that after he was able to tell me where the number went consistantly first.

[OneStepAtATime]

DD does so much better with lattice method for multiplication, along with a multiplication grid.  You might consider doing Dynamo Math over the summer (British program), since he might be able to do a lot of that independently, then introduce lattice method for multiplication.  Have you ever used Times Tales?  That works for some kids trying to learn multiplication.  We have not used it here, but once DD finishes Dynamo Math, I am considering using it to try and help with faster recall of the multiplication tables.

[geodob]

You sons visual issues need to be considered in terms of math?

Where visualizing numbers is a crucial element of doing mental math.

If we visualize a number, such 172.

We can hold it in our mind as a single image.  Where the order of the numbers remain clear.

As opposed to holding a number in our mind verbally, as a string of words: 'one hundred and seventy two'.

 

But the ability to visualize, is an acquired skill. Which a child teaches themselves how to do.

Though 'visual issues' will carry over into the way that a child learns to visualize.

 

So that I would ask a question about how he represents numbers in his mind, as he does mental math?

 

 

[PeterPan]

My son is 13 and we are just starting to see improvement with keeping numbers in the right columns.  One thing that did help was a few ipad apps.  He would have to select the number he wanted to use and the ipad would immediately insert it in the right place.  Now I only started that after he was able to tell me where the number went consistantly first.

What's the app?

[AmyontheFarm]

The apps are made by Esa Heittula.

 

We have and use the Long division, and Long multiplication right now.  They also have some addition and subtraction ones.

 

 You can enter in the question you want to solve from your textbook and then work the question.  We would sit side by side and he would tell me what he had to do next and where it had to go then he would press the numbers and the ipad would do it's thing.  We would then discuss if he was right or wrong.  It was Mommy intensive for the first week (20-30 mins) a day.  After that he started to "get" it and started doing it neater on his paper. (Insert angels singing).  The best thing I ever did was let him do his math on the white board, his penmanship improved, his columns improved, his precentage right improved.  His printing became larger but it was definately neater!.  Also, on the white board, I would have him take a coloured marking and draw lines down his columns to see how straight they were.  If he didn't think it was that straight, he would re-copy the question straighter.

[Tiramisu]

You sons visual issues need to be considered in terms of math?

Where visualizing numbers is a crucial element of doing mental math.

If we visualize a number, such 172.

We can hold it in our mind as a single image.  Where the order of the numbers remain clear.

As opposed to holding a number in our mind verbally, as a string of words: 'one hundred and seventy two'.

 

But the ability to visualize, is an acquired skill. Which a child teaches themselves how to do.

Though 'visual issues' will carry over into the way that a child learns to visualize.

 

So that I would ask a question about how he represents numbers in his mind, as he does mental math?

 

When I found out dd had CI, I started reading up on it and found a research study which connects developmental vision difficulties to problems in math. So there is a connection and I would personally try to get the VT for CI.

 

My dd with CI never had the severity of problems with vision that you describe, but she was late in cementing her facts. Between fourth and sixth grades things really began to click for her with math. Based on that experience, I'd wait longer before going to a calculator.

 

I understand how you feel pulled in so many directions. It's hard.